Chipotle Sued For Defrauding Investors Over the E. Coli They Were Serving Up

Chipotle, the chain Mexican restaurant that proudly boasts a menu of food “with integrity,” and in several instances, “with E. coli,” has a new affliction to fight off: A lawsuit alleging the company defrauded its investors with regard to its food safety, or lack thereof.

According to reports, the suit was filed Friday by an investor named Susie Ong, who alleges the company “failed to disclose that its quality controls were inadequate to safeguard consumer and employee health.”

Which is to say, the company’s stock tanked over the last six months and people want their money back. Or as Ong’s attorney, Jeremy A. Lieberman, puts it, “Their statements regarding quality control and quality of ingredients were demonstrably false and have posed a tremendous safety hazard to their patrons.”

(And more importantly: “As a result, investors in the company suffered significant losses when these health concerns were raised by regulators.”)

On the bright side, for a brief glorious moment, Chipotle wasn’t fattening.